Is the Menstrual Cup Worth It? | Mooncup

I have been wanting to write this for a while; as talking about periods is still a taboo (I did a whole post with TOTM talking about periods here) and also due to the fact, I have been using my mooncup for approximately 4 months now & it has become my new best friend in terms of feminine products. I thought it would be a great time to share my thoughts on using this little cup every month. Plus trying to break the stigma and get people to speak up and not be ashamed of the fact, women bleed every month- it’s a natural part of life. We should feel free to talk about it. Period. If you are someone who gets offended by periods, I dare you to stay and read this whole thing.

What is a Menstrual Cup?

Well to start with, a menstrual cup is an environmentally sustainable and healthier product that was created for women to use on their periods to collect the fluid, instead of absorbing it like tampons and pads do. The cup is made from medical grade silicone which reduces the chances of getting Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) and is healthier for you as it does not disrupt the PH levels in your body. Along with this it is also more economic as the cup lasts 10 years costing approximately between £16-30 depending on which brand of cup you decide to purchase, compared to the frequent purchasing of tampons and pads it is a lot cheaper in the long run.

I got my cup from Mooncup. They are an ethical brand from the UK, so supporting local businesses! This company has been established since 2002- First sanitary protection manufacturer with Ethical Business status. They are completely vegan and certified by the Vegan Society. I discovered them through Twitter- of course! Did my research on the product and decided to go ahead and purchase my own Mooncup. The Mooncup comes in 2 sizes, A – for those who have had a vaginal birth or are over 30 and B – for those who are under 30 and haven’t had a vaginal birth. Since I’ve never had a child, I went ahead and ordered myself the size B.

I won’t hide the fact that I was terrified before my order arrived. I had been considering buying the menstrual cup for months before I actually purchased it back in July this year- because I was that scared haha. Even though I did do a lot of research into which cup would be best for my body, reading other people’s reviews and just trying to get my head around the idea of having one. So I eventually bought it and to no surprise I was feeling a bit anxious. Waiting for it to arrive which did only take a few days, wasn’t to bad. I removed the cup from the packaging, read the instructions, got to cleaning the cup (which will always be discussed on the instruction leaflet), after that I popped the little cup back into its little cotton pouch to be tested the next day. I was done for the day, haha.

I was brave and I went for it! I decided to do in the shower, because during my research I found out that, practising the insertion while in the shower would be best due to the flow of water. Folding the little cup into a U fold (according to the guide provided), and shoving it right up there. At first was really weird and did take a couple of tries to get it right, it felt strange but comfortable once it was in there properly. This is not something you are going to get perfect straight away, heck no! It will take a few attempts before you know which fold is right for you, how far up there you need to put the cup. By pulling gently on the stem of the cup you can test the suction; if the cup has opened fully or if you need to make any adjustments – generally speaking the insertion after the first attempt isn’t that bad.

However, taking it out was a whole other story! Taking the cup out the first time; I thought I needed to go to the hospital to get help to remove it, haha. What happened was, I couldn’t get a grip on the cup to pinch the bottom (which releases the suction) to remove it easily. The cup slid up further and I started to have a mild panic attack, stressing out thinking it was stuck. Little did I know all I had to do was calm down, and bear down which pushed the cup down so I was able to reach the thing and remove it- this took longer than the first insertion did, and I wasn’t even worried about taking it out at first haha. But once you have the hang of things, it becomes so much easier and the menstrual cup just pops out after you pinch the bottom and pull on it. The Mooncup can stay in for up to 8 hours – and if you are like me and have a light flow then changing it once every 8 hours is perfectly fine; no leaks, spills or falling out. Now onto emptying and cleaning the little menstrual cup, that part of the job is relatively straight-forward. All you have to do is empty the contents of the cup into the toilet, rinse the cup out with warm water give it a clean and just re-insert and you are good to go for another 8 hours!

So is the menstrual cup worth it? In my opinion, 100% worth it. I don’t feel any leaks whilst I am using the cup; it is comfortable half the time I forget its even up there catching my blood – like a right saviour! I only have to use this cup; so taking away the use of disposable pads which are polluting our planet. And another thing that makes buying the cup worth it- value for money, my cup cost me £20 and so far using it for 4 months it has paid itself off as using pads I went through 3 packets a month (4 months worth of buying pads costs me £27.48) so I saved £7.48 and the menstrual will last me another 9 years and 8 months. What are you waiting for? Get your cup today!

2 Comments

Livy

December 20, 2017 / 11:24 AM

Hey, thanks for this! I am super anxious about getting mine, I’ve been putting it off for months! I’ve never used tampons so I’m just not used to putting things up there. I’m also worried about washing it, spending most of my time at uni and with a pretty heavy flow I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to do this! How do you go to clean it without… Getting messy?

Great insight on the cup! Thanks for the detailed explanation. I longly debated between the cup and washable period pads, and as I never wear tampons I went for the pads. I might try the cup out eventually, because pads still are uncomfortable in the sense that you still feel blood coming out of you!
I’m glad you are satisfied with your purchase and that it works well for you 😀 x

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I'm Sophie, a nature warrior with a love for animals. I like to think I am a bit-of-everything writer: from veganism to travels and everything in between.
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